Video essay by Jellybox about what's good and bad about indie animation!

Wanted to share this in case it's helpful to anyone wanting to pursue making animation independently. It's also for fans of indie animation who may want some insight into how an indie studio works, why indie cartoons are always selling merch, why release schedules are often erratic, etc.

I also wanted to clarify the video's context, because it seems to have been somewhat misconstrued in some circles. Not long ago, WGA and SAG strikes, followed by TAG negotiations were very much in the news, shining light on the struggles the artists, writers, and actors in the Hollywood studio system are facing. In response, the words 'just go indie' have been tossed around quite a bit lately.

Gene and Sean at Jellybox approached us a few months back explaining that they were planning to make a video about the realities of running an indie studio/producing indie animation, largely in response to that 'just go indie' attitude. They were curious if we'd be willing to share our experience, including information about actual costs and the various difficulties and complications we've encountered. We said yes! We'd like for people to know what it's like. As much as it might look appealing next to the currently very broken studio system, indie has its own set of problems, and we think it's a good idea to be transparent about that because talking about problems is how you begin to address them.

Of course, while you get creative freedom and you have no shareholders to appease with indie production, the primary struggle you're always going to face is funding…and funding avenues are limited. Banks aren't eager to hand out business loans to freelance artists making cartoons, for instance. Social media algorithms reward frequent updates you can't swing with hand-drawn animated content, so you can't rely much on things like AdSense. You can't really insert sponsored ads into your animated videos without being too obtrusive. You can take on client work, but that interferes with your ability to focus on own animated project. Crowdfunds can be great for seed money, but they're also a ton of work to fulfill, and fulfillment itself will tend to eat up a considerable amount of the funds you've raised. Once your animation is produced, there is no well established way to sell the animated episode itself like there is for, say indie games sold on Steam. So, while we consider ways to try to make the terrain a bit more hospitable to indie creations, if nothing else, let this explain why productions rely a lot on merch drops!

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And hey, if you're an animation fan, consider supporting the independent productions you enjoy, whether you're tossing a few dollars their way, buying their merch, or just mentioning them to friends:

Girls will say "this is my beautiful wife" and their beautiful wife is just a weird looking man

#Overthinking

I'm thinking of uploading sketches from posts that were as funny quotes. It just needs to gather some amount of them. Will be avible on @hell-for-rent Besides I feel unpleasant chills when I think that I have to wait more than a year to share the sketches I made during the Hazbin leaks. And I never forget that I have 2 or 3 animatics to complete. My graduation will take place on Thursday. Can't wait to smash it and take opportunity to finish my things. Like re-reading some fics! On my way home I made big progress in "Angels Make Mistakes". My brain is poking me about fanarts, but it is work in progress to re-think.

Ok, thats all info for now! Big thx for reading and following me on my blogs.

#REALIZATION

Right. My arts and projects. I still remember about them! That’s why I am re-sharing this post!

Anyway!

I am so exciting for my hiper-fixation train! My biggest problem is reading comprehension. I forgot how to read. My reading comprehension is in a terrible state and I simply need more time to verify what i read in 15 minutes. It makes my life quite hard, but I have passion for some fics and want to translate them into pictures. Even if I have more free time, it is still not enough to make EVERYTHING. Art takes time. I need 48h or double pair of hands.

Will be back soon with more content on @hell-for-rent AND new fanart on @thats-hilarious-dear dedicated for polish dubbing studio Brudolina. Guys! Polish dubbing is so fun 😂 I am proud of them! 💖💪🇵🇱

subscribing to a fic isn’t enough I need the author to blast a bat signal into the night sky whenever they update

The truth of it 🤣

@deadgirlwalking91 I care too, have a nice morning! 🌞

Haven’t posted for a hot while but

elemental jumpscare💔

Pls enjoy low effort, low quality babygirl Adam🌸💕💖💄🌼💋👛💐✨

No one owes artists anything.

But existence is lonely and sometime you throw hours and hours of effort into a void, on the slim chance it will say something back.

Oh Yeah! Hell Yeah! It’s A God Damn Dinosaur Laser Fight! - Submitted by: fastman27

#7F1AD1 #5A6AFF #9CEBFF #F5FFCF #FFF067 #FF8E37

My first piece of 2025! A bit more feral Stolas, in watercolor and pencil because I've been loving it lately

Introduction to the Snow - submitted by ghostlyposts

#D2645D #D0A54F #DFDE61 #C7E061 #99D390 #6FBFAA #7C81C6 #886AE2 

So… I guess another big hiatus is coming after me? Huh. Pretty tough time for my night shifts, my projects and my personal health conditions. There will be no content for both blogs @hell-for-rent and @thats-hilarious-dear

I hope to be back with something in December, but I can’t promise that. My ded acc’s on insta or artful just crying in the basement 🥲 pretending to be alive but not so much~

See U ppl~!

Here we are. New year and old problems. I am keeping my hiatus until graduation, but for my own sanity I am re-sharing some Christmas and New Year’s fanarts. Starting on Friday I am going to spam a little!